Skinwalker: Jane Yellowrock, Book 1

Jane Yellowrock is the last of her kind-a skinwalker of Cherokee descent who can turn into any creature she desires and hunts vampires for a living. But now she's been hired by Katherine Fontaneau, one of the oldest vampires in New Orleans and the madam of Katie's Ladies, to hunt a powerful rogue vampire who's killing other vamps.

Scarlet

Posing as one of Robin Hood's thieves to avoid the evil Lord Gisbourne, Scarlet has kept her identity secret from all of Nottinghamshire. Only Big John and Robin Hood know the truth - that the agile thief posing as a whip of a boy is actually a fearless young woman with a secret past. It's getting harder to hide as Gisbourne's camp seeks to find Scarlet and drive Robin Hood out of Nottinghamshire. But Scarlet's instinct for self-preservation is at war with a strong sense of responsibility to the people who took her in when she was on the run, and she finds it's not so easy to turn her back on her band and townspeople.

Kitty and The Midnight Hour: Kitty Norville, Book 1

Kitty Norville is a midnight-shift DJ for a Denver radio station---and a werewolf in the closet. Sick of lame song requests, she accidentally starts "The Midnight Hour," a late-night advice show for the supernaturally disadvantaged. After desperate vampires, werewolves, and witches across the country begin calling in to share their woes, her new show is a raging success.

Some Girls Bite: Chicagoland Vampires, Book 1

They killed me. They healed me. They changed me. Sure, the life of a graduate student wasn't exactly glamorous, but it was mine. I was doing fine until Chicago's vampires announced their existence to the world---and then a rogue vampire attacked me. But he only got a sip before he was scared away by another bloodsucker...and this one decided that the best way to save my life was to make me the walking undead.

Silence Fallen: A Mercy Thompson Novel, Book 10

Attacked and abducted in her home territory, Mercy finds herself in the clutches of the most powerful vampire in the world, taken as a weapon to use against alpha werewolf Adam and the ruler of the Tri-Cities vampires. In coyote form, Mercy escapes - only to find herself without money, without clothing, and alone in the heart of Europe. Unable to contact Adam and the rest of the pack, Mercy has allies to find and enemies to fight, and she needs to figure out which is which.

The Never Hero: The Chronicles of Jonathan Tibbs, Book 1

Reclusive college student Jonathan Tibbs wakes in a pool of blood, not a scratch on him. His life is about to undergo a massive shift. A violent and merciless otherworldly enemy unleashes slaughter in the streets, calling out in a language only he understands. And it is seeking its challenger. In order to defeat the threat, Jonathan must become a temporal weapon...while remaining completely anonymous. Unfortunately, harnessing off-world powers has its own special challenges...

Clean Sweep

On the outside, Dina Demille is the epitome of normal. She runs a quaint Victorian Bed and Breakfast in a small Texas town, owns a Shih Tzu named Beast, and is a perfect neighbor, whose biggest problem should be what to serve her guests for breakfast.

Succubus Blues: Georgina Kincaid, Book 1

Succubus (n.) An alluring, shape-shifting demon who seduces and pleasures mortal men. Pathetic (adj.) A succubus with great shoes and no social life. See: Georgina Kincaid. When it comes to jobs in hell, being a succubus seems pretty glamorous. A girl can be anything she wants, the wardrobe is killer, and mortal men will do anything just for a touch. Granted, they often pay with their souls, but why get technical? But Seattle succubus Georgina Kincaid's life is far less exotic.

Omens

Twenty-four-year-old Olivia Taylor Jones has the perfect life. The only daughter of a wealthy, prominent Chicago family, she has an Ivy League education, pursues volunteerism and philanthropy, and is engaged to a handsome young tech firm CEO with political ambitions. But Olivia’s world is shattered when she learns that she’s adopted. Her real parents? Todd and Pamela Larsen, notorious serial killers serving a life sentence.

Soulless: An Alexia Tarabotti Novel

Victorian romance mixes seamlessly with elegant prose and biting wit—and werewolves—in Gail Carriger’s delightful debut novel. Soulless introduces Alexia Tarabotti, a parasol-wielding Londoner getting dangerously close to spinster status. But there are more important things than finding a husband. For Alexia was born without a soul, giving her the ability to render any vampire or werewolf completely powerless.

Spider's Bite: Elemental Assassin, Book 1

They call me the Spider. I'm the most feared assassin in the South -- when I'm not busy at the Pork Pit cooking up the best barbecue in Ashland. As a Stone elemental, I can hear everything from the whispers of the gravel beneath my feet to the vibrations of the soaring Appalachian Mountains above me. My Ice magic also comes in handy for making the occasional knife. But I don't use my powers on the job unless I absolutely have to. Call it professional pride.

City of Golden Shadow: Otherland, Book 1

Surrounded by secrecy, it is home to the wildest dreams and darkest nightmares. Incredible amounts of money have been lavished on it. The best minds of two generations have labored to build it. And somehow, bit by bit, it is claiming the Earth's most valuable resource - its children.

The Mayfair Moon: The Darkwoods Trilogy, Book 1

After a nightmarish encounter with a werewolf, 17-year-old Adria Dawson loses her sister, but gains the love of a mysterious young man and his legendary family. Strange and tragic things begin to happen in the small town of Hallowell, Maine: residents come down with an unexplainable 'illness' and some disappear. In the midst of everything, Isaac Mayfair is adamant about keeping Adria safe, even from her sister whom he has warned her to stay away from.

Suzanne Finnegan says:"An average book which would appeal to werewolf fan"

The Becoming: Anna Strong, Vampire, Book 1

Anna Strong is trained for anything-until she's attacked one night, only to awaken in a dark world that exists between the living and the dead. Here, Anna struggles with her love for the two men who inhabit the realms of each: Max, a human DEA agent, and Avery, a Night Watcher who joins Anna in pursuit of the vampire who changed her life. Now, as her two worlds collide, fate plunges Anna into the ultimate battle between good and evil - where survival is not just for the living.

Karen M. Krettler says:"Another new take on vampires and the paranormal."

Halfway to the Grave: Night Huntress, Book 1

Half-vampire Catherine Crawfield is going after the undead with a vengeance, hoping that one of these deadbeats is her father—the one responsible for ruining her mother's life. Then she's captured by Bones, a vampire bounty hunter, and is forced into an unlikely partnership. In exchange for help finding her father, Cat agrees to train with the sexy night stalker until her battle reflexes are as sharp as his fangs. She's amazed she doesn't end up as his dinner…are there actually good vampires?

Curse on the Land: Soulwood, Book 2

Before Nell Ingram met skinwalker Jane Yellowrock, she had no one to rely on, finding strength only in her arcane connection to the dark woods around her. But now she has friends in the newly formed PsyLED team to keep her grounded - even if being part of the agency responsible for policing paranormals comes with dangers of its own.

Magic Binds: Kate Daniels, Book 9

Mercenary Kate Daniels knows all too well that magic in post-Shift Atlanta is a dangerous business. But nothing she's faced could have prepared her for this.... Kate and the former Beast Lord Curran Lennart are finally making their relationship official. But there are some steep obstacles standing in the way of their walk to the altar.... Kate's father, Roland, has kidnapped the demigod Saiman and is slowly bleeding him dry in his never-ending bid for power.

Croak

Fed up with her wild behavior, 16-year-old Lex’s parents ship her off to upstate New York to live with her Uncle Mort for the summer, hoping that a few months of dirty farm work will whip her back into shape. But Uncle Mort’s true occupation is much dirtier than shoveling manure. He’s a Grim Reaper. And he’s going to teach Lex the family business. She quickly assimilates into the peculiar world of Croak, a town populated by reapers who deliver souls from this life to the next.

The Last Mission of the Living

Vanguard Lindsay Rooney has faced the undead hordes of Inferi Scourge and lived to tell the tale, but she has also suffered horrible losses. Like millions of other civilians, she had hoped that The Bastion would recover after a team of modified soldiers eradicated the undead hordes of Inferi Scourge that infested their valley. Yet the city still crumbles around them, along with any chance of survival.

Talon: The Talon Saga, Book 1

Long ago, dragons were hunted to near extinction by the Order of St. George, a legendary society of dragon slayers. Hiding in human form and growing their numbers in secret, the dragons of Talon have becomestrong and cunning, and they're positioned to take over the world with humans none the wiser. Ember and Dante Hill are the only sister and brother known to dragonkind. Trained to infiltrate society, Ember wants to live the teen experience and enjoy a summer of freedom before taking her destined place in Talon.

Nice Dragons Finish Last: Heartstrikers, Book 1

Audie Award, Fantasy, 2016. As the smallest dragon in the Heartstriker clan, Julius survives by a simple code: keep quiet, don't cause trouble, and stay out of the way of bigger dragons. But this meek behavior doesn't fly in a family of ambitious magical predators, and his mother, Bethesda the Heartstriker, has finally reached the end of her patience.

Six of Crows

Ketterdam: a bustling hub of international trade where anything can be had for the right price - and no one knows that better than criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker. Kaz is offered a chance at a deadly heist that could make him rich beyond his wildest dreams. But he can't pull it off alone.

Dirty: A Dive Bar Novel

The last thing Vaughan Hewson expects to find when he returns to his childhood home is a brokenhearted bride in his shower, let alone the drama and chaos that come with her. Lydia Green doesn't know whether to scream or cry in a corner. Discovering the love of your life is having an affair on your wedding day is bad enough. Finding out it's with his best man is another thing altogether.

Neverwhere

Richard Mayhew is an unassuming young businessman living in London, with a dull job and a pretty but shrewish fiancée. Then one night he stumbles upon a girl lying on the sidewalk, bleeding. He stops to help her, and his life is changed forever. Soon he finds himself living in a London most people would never have dreamed of: a city of monsters and saints, murderers and angels. It is a world that exists entirely in a subterranean labyrinth of sewer canals and abandoned subway stations.

Publisher's Summary

No one creates realms like New York Times best-selling author Anne Bishop. Now in a thrilling new fantasy series, enter a world inhabited by the Others, unearthly entities - vampires and shape-shifters among them - who rule the Earth and whose prey are humans.

As a cassandra sangue, or blood prophet, Meg Corbyn can see the future when her skin is cut - a gift that feels more like a curse. Meg's Controller keeps her enslaved so he can have full access to her visions. But when she escapes, the only safe place Meg can hide is at the Lakeside Courtyard - a business district operated by the Others.

Shape-shifter Simon Wolfgard is reluctant to hire the stranger who inquires about the Human Liaison job. First, he senses she's keeping a secret, and second, she doesn't smell like human prey. Yet a stronger instinct propels him to give Meg the job. And when he learns the truth about Meg and that she's wanted by the government, he'll have to decide if she's worth the fight between humans and the Others that will surely follow.

I have been happily married for 17 years, I have 3 children (12, 14, & 16), and 2 dogs. I am currently working on a 2nd degree. Life is chaotic and stressful, but I wouldn't change it. I am blessed and enjoying my life.

This is truly a wonderful book, from start to finish, just outstanding. The book is 18 plus hours, I managed to listen to the entire book in about 30 hours. I did nothing else! The characters and the world that they live in are phenomenal. As events unfolded, I kept checking to see how much longer I had. This will probably be one that I go back and listen to again. And don't you just love it when the bad guys get exactly what they deserve?! It was really an outstanding performance with both Anne Bishop and Alexandra Harris. And you have got to be damned good to deliver such a fantastic performance without even one love scene!

This performance is worth BOTH of my credits for the month, so it was a bargain at only one credit.

I listened to the audiobook version of "Written In Red" in December 2013. I didn't write a review because I was so blown away all I'd have been able to say was: "Best fantasy novel I've read in a long, long time." I needed a bit of distance to get some perspective on what I enjoyed and why.

Last weekend, I was in "Forbidden Planet" in Liverpool and saw that the third book in the series, "Vision In Silver" had just been released in hardback. It was an instant and joyful buy. So I figured it was time to review the books that have brought me so much pleasure.

In my view "Written In Red" is closer to classic science fiction than it is to urban fantasy. Anne Bishop isn't writing about supernatural creatures roaming city streets. She's created an alternative reality, imagined the way good science fiction should be: starting with two small changes to our familiar reality - humans are not at the top of the food chain and shapeshifters are not only real but dominant - while keeping everything else the same and then working through the consequences. She then delivers complex, credible, I'm-hungry-to-know-more world-buidling in simple prose. But what makes this book unmissable is the way she made her world real to me by creating characters I cared about and putting them in peril.

The back story to Anne Bishop's alternative reality is that humans evolved and developed their civilization away from the wilderness that covers most of the planet. Then they came into contact with The Others - predatory shapeshifters and fierce elementals - who dominate the planet and to whom humans are "clever meat". The two cultures clashed. The humans lost, again and again, over centuries. Eventually the humans negotiated the right to specific pieces of land in exchange for services rendered.

At the time of the events of "Written In Red", humans are thriving on their "reservations" and are being supervised by Others living in Courtyards from which they observe what the clever meat is up to.

The Others in "Written In Red" can be described as werewolves or vampires or even werecrows but Anne Bishop only uses the familiar tropes to twist away from them. The Others are not humans who shift into wolves. They are wolves who occasionally choose to put on human skin. The Others are fundamentally alien. They literally eat humans that displease them. They are fiercely loyal to each other. They have a strong sense of pack or flock or hierarchy. They are civilized but they are not at all like us.

Into this world comes Meg Corbyn, a homeless waif with a secret. A Courtyard takes her in as their "Human Liaison" and the history of the world starts to pivot. Meg is engaging vulnerable, empathetic, curious, kind, and dutiful. Her innocence is explained by her sequestered life as a cassandra sangue, a woman who can see the future if her is skin is sliced. That she is kind and extremely likable is explained only by the fact that she is Meg.

The interaction between Meg and the Others is one of the most enjoyable things about the book. They laugh at her and puzzle over her but they also give her shelter. They declare her to "Our Meg" and protect her even though they are unaware of her background. She becomes, in effect, a valued pet human.

The treatment of the cassandra sangue by humans is far more monstrous than anything the Others do. When the Others sell human flesh as "Special Meat" it is an honest, malice-free act. When humans exploit the cassandra sangue, their actions are both fundamentaly inhumane and realistically human.

Anne Bishop's alternative reality is as dark and threatening as an ancient forest. Immediately after reading the book, I might have said that the darkness came from the constant threat the Others pose to humans, but the darkest image lingering in my imagination is Meg's razor: the one with her number on it, the one that was used to slice her skin to force her visions, the only thing she carried with her to her new freedom. The razor is a source pain and pleasure, a sign of slavery and a badge of honour, a bone-deep fear and a heart-felt desire. The razor and all it means, makes Meg Corbyn much darker than she first appears to be. In many ways it brings her closer to being one of the Others and makes her disturbing as well as engaging.

In "Written in Red", most humans who have power or are seeking it, are not mentally equipped to accept a status quo in which they are not at the top of the food chain. They are constantly plotting, looking for an edge that will enable them to become the apex predators. This seemed realistic to me, although I think the human evil-doers would have been more interesting if they had been a little less irredeemably venal.

Alexandra Harris does an excellent job as the narrator, particularly with the voice she uses for Meg.

"Written In Red" is original, rigorously thought through, passionate and written in deceptively simple prose. I believe it is the start of an outstanding series.

I have already listened to this twice. It takes a little while to get used to since it is a different twist on the shifter human relations then you see in most paranormal books, but that is what makes it so good. The characters are excellent, well developed and likable. Bishop does a good job of establishing and explaining the world for these characters. The story is engaging and keeps you listening and wanting more at the end. I already cannot wait for the next book to come out.

I absolutely adored this book. This is my first exposure to this author and all I can say is that I'm just blown away. The book covers are gorgeous and I can be lured in by beautiful graphics. I'm a book slut that way.

I didn't enjoy the narrator as much. I much prefer deeper voices and the voice seemed too young adult. However the voice was consistent and smooth. I could get past those slight annoyance and enjoy the story.

The premise of the story, based on a person who cut themselves (because they were a blood prophet), didn't appeal to me when I first learned of it and even though I had several recommendations by book friends, I resisted until now.

Finally in desperate need of a good book and looking for new authors I took the leap. Talk about rock my world. The best way I can describe this is an alternate reality story that is similar to our own world, but imagine instead that humans were the minority. Think of white man coming to America and finding indigenous natives that could and would readily eat you. It took a while but human finally negotiated a foot hold with bartering with the Others. Then after several hundred years as what rings strongly with our own society, humans forget what they should be grateful for and how they should be beholden too and starts creating trouble. They should let sleeping wolves lie as if they rouse they can not only eat you, but crush entire cities.

The main protagonist, Meg (who is the blood prophet), is actually an escaped slave who gets a job with the Others, and unknowingly starts changing the world of Others and Humans in her efforts to learn to be human and learn to coexist with the Others. She is not the strong fighter, and in fact scared a lot but she is brave in her own way. I didn't find this annoying because she wasn't whimpy/whiny. Even though the story is dark and violent as all the best Urban Fantasies are, there is so much charm and humor and the relationships and points of view of the different story lines are intriguing (other than one I didn't enjoy to much). I adored the elemental ponies, 'wolf' beds and cookies and Simon in his gruff/rough way was seriously too cute. Major hugs and scritches to Sam too.

Don't expect romance or sex - in fact I found it refreshing to see the development of relationships without it. (Reminds me of the lovely slow/strong relationship building of Kate and Curran over many books in the Magic series by Ilona Andrews) This story is NOT regular tame shifters that are just fury people. These are truly MONSTERS and the world building is just awesome.

My only little grumble was not liking the point of view of female baddie - she was just too annoying for me, rather than scary or worrisome.

As soon as I finished this I jumped on the next "Murder of Crows". I"m already jonsing for book 3.

Written in Red is a solidly written urban fantasy of an alternate universe (or alternate planet) Earth. Most of the modern trappings are there - cities, cars, etc., but the cultural references are missing (in a good way) and instead we have a very different set of humans and humanity in a supernatural world.

Megan barely escapes the prison she has been raised in her whole life - a place where women who are able to read the future are trained solely to that purpose so their 'minders' can profit from their visions. Megan knows nothing of the outside world except what her handlers felt she needed in order to give the best prophecies/to translate their visions welle nough. But she will have to make her way if she is to survive. She ends up being taken in by the Others - werewolves, elementals, vampires and more who live in enclaves in the human cities but outside of human law. She must earn their trust: for the men who owned her are powerful and she represents a staggering amount of lost investment and clout if she remains missing.

Anne Bishop did an excellent job of creating strong characters who stay consistent throughout. We don't have the cliches of strong minded girl, noble knight in shining armor, caring friends. Instead, we have a purposefully simple character (Meg) who wins over very jaded individuals because of that simplicity. She's not stupid but she hasn't been educated or experienced life outside of the institution in which she was 'protected' since she was born. Bishop gives Meg a humanity and the standoffish nature of the Others is well written. But without the fish out of water scenes that would get annoying.

I really enjoyed this first in the series. For once, the non-action scenes are as endearing as the fight scenes are exciting. Characters are very fully realized as is the world building. No one felt like one dimensional cutouts, which was refreshing. And there's no instalov and a very hinted at love story that will likely be built upon in further volumes.

I'd like to say I enjoyed the book, but I feel like I mostly mildly tolerated it just to know what happened as I don't like to leave books unfinished. The author fixates on extremely mundane details. There is so much fuss over putting on and/or taking off boots, moping up melted snow, and other things that I really just didn't care about. It slowed the book down tremendously, and while I can see how it fit with the naivety of the protagonist, it drove me nuts to listen to the repetition of routine tasks and how much concern everyone had over what nobody would even think about in their daily life.

What didn’t you like about Alexandra Harris’s performance?

She is a very slow reader, which made a slow story crawl even more. It added to the sense of mundane to this book, and I was honestly very bored through much of the book and I wonder how much had to do with the pace of the reading. Her voices were fairly good, other than Simon's voice (too hostile all the time).

What character would you cut from Written in Red?

Overall I enjoyed most of the characters. The female antagonist was highly annoying, fairly stupid for someone who is supposedly gifted at what she does.

Any additional comments?

As a fan of other worlds such as Jim Butcher or Faith Hunter where more action takes place in a vivid and brilliant world, I found Bishop's world laking somewhat in believability. I feel like the author could have done so much more with this book if the premise wasn't so... boring. I found myself not as engaged or enthralled by Bishop's world, I found it very simple and odd incongruences in the behaviour of the people in that world. If you are more action-based urban fantasy, like myself, this book may not be for you.

Really, way too cute. I expected a dark adult urban fantasy. Instead this was beyond Disneyesque.

There are cute ponies, cute puppies, cute talking animals, lots of cookies & peppermint tea, shopping & catalogs, and making friends, as well as an unbelievable amount of mail sorting. Yes, there were some potentially dark themes of cutting, vampires, and were-creatures, but everything was so darn cute and simplistic there was little tension.

Even the antagonist is too cute to stomach.

The universe did not seem internally consistent to me. The internet exists, but humans are woefully uniformed about vamps and werepacks. The protagonist was raised without emotional sensations except those stimulated by ritual cutting, yet is just as cute as a button and peppy as can be. There are also direct inconsistencies like the protagonist sometimes knowing about wolves and sometimes not. I am also dubious that associating self-mutilation with psychic-powers for impressionable young females readers is the best of ideas.

The prose were weak, perhaps just ok for young readers, but too childlike for me. The universe is like 1990s US with the names changed to protect the cuteness. LA is “Sparkletown”, Wednesday is “Windsday”, and so on. Everyone and everything has a cute name. The masculine characters are all amazingly weak and PC considering they are mostly werecreatures and police.

The writing was also totally predicable. After the second chapter if you pause and ask yourself “How will this book turn out?” You will likely guess correctly on every aspect. There was literally not a single thing that surprised me.

The environment is not urban, instead it is like a friendly small college town where prey and predator learn mutual respect, how to understand each other and work together.

The narration is quite annoying with exaggerated cutesy-pie or gruff, but I find it hard to blame the narrator for this, as it seems that is how the characters were written.

My daughter really liked this series and recommended it to me. She loved the cuteness juxtaposed with darkness, and the characters and story, for her, made up for any inconsistencies. Nevertheless I would not even recommend this for young readers.

This book exceeded my expectations, there are lots of bad to average fantasy novels around but this isn't one of them. The world Bishop has created is unlike other fantasy novels. It's not cheesy at all either. It's an intriguing story and I got sucked in right away and I'm looking forward to the second book. I hope Bishop is a prolific series writer, there's so much story to explore here!

I love this series so much. They are the only audible books in my 700+ Audible library that I routinely re-listen to when I need some feel-good time! The narrator is EXCELLENT AND THE STORY is creative, well-thought out and utterly enjoyable. I just completed Vision in Silver and can't WAIT for book 4. Well worth your credit!

Where does Written in Red rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I bought this after seeing it recommended on a list of credit-worthy listens by Audible and was not disappointed. It is hard to find a fantasy story where both the author and narrator are as good as the standard here. I would personally class this story as a fantasy romance but don't be put off by that if you are not a romance fan because the romance is mild, while the story and characters are strong. I wasn't board once in eighteen and a half hours and will be buying the squeal if it also comes to Audible.

There are many things I like about this story. The fantasy universe is well realized. The author has merged aspects of quite dark subjects and characters, with aspects of almost child like wish fulfillment, providing something new and interesting for her readers. There are several interesting plot's converging in the book and the writing is of a good standard in all the things that are most important to me as a reader: characterization, imagery and plot.

The narrator is also excellent. Time and again I am put of wonderful stories by the grating and robotic tones of a narrator. Alexandra Harris on the other hand, tells the story in a lively and engaging manner, voicing the different parts for the characters. She is one of the few American narrators of a fantasy book that I would recommend and I only wish there where more like her.

Why isn't it a five? Partly it's a four because I'm comparing against my favorite authors like Terry Pratchett, Patrick Rothfuss and Anne McCaffrey and if I give this a five, I have nowhere to go for them.

DO NOT READ IF YOU WANT TO READ THIS STORY UNSPOILED.

Another reason I haven't given it a five star rating, is that there is a vast and interesting background plot which, if given more focus in this novel, would have greatly improved the story. Instead the author appears to have chosen to tell it over a series and the story looses a bit of momentum and potential because of that. Also, it has to be said that the heroine is the typical outcast who quickly brings anyone of importance round to caring for her, sacrificing some credibility and potentially interesting plot developments because of this.

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

Amazon Customer

Newton Abbot, United Kingdom

1/10/14

Overall

Performance

Story

"Lovely Surprise"

Any additional comments?

I really enjoyed this calm and smooth book - totally involving invented world. I didn't expect to like it but I loved it. I will now search for any other books I hope it's a series.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

DebB

Oxfordshire, England

6/1/13

Overall

Performance

Story

"A YA book that works for older ones!"

This is a YA book - that's not to say it isn't listenable to and enjoyable for a less than young adults, but it isn't a complex story, and can get a bit girly, with talk early on of "ponies tummies", and rather a lot of hot chocolate and cookie consumption, but these are minor complaints.I was surprised to learn, a couple of hours or so in, that our heroine Meg is 25 (or maybe 24 - can't remember now) and not the 16 or 17 I'd assumed her to be. She is "read" very young by the narrator, and as the story progresses this apparent youth becomes understandable, but one of the "baddies" came over to me as about 18, while they were probably meant to be Meg's age or more, and they didn't have any reason to some across as a petulant teenager. So I grumbled my way through the first few hours of listening, feeling slightly misled over who the target audience for this book is, however... things got better!This may be a straightforward and pretty predictable story, but it's also quite compelling once you get going. The world building is interesting and different, Meg is a good, kind, brave soul who grows on you - I was really rooting for her. The development of the relationship between her and the Others is allowed to progress slowly, showing the Others utter bewilderment at how to deal with humans, and Meg's complete lack of knowledge about human life in the real world. There's a host of supporting characters - decent human policemen, shifters of various species, vampires, elementals, the ponies (who have a darker side so aren't so cute after all) and Tess - and nobody knows what she is... The baddies are credible, and potentially quite nasty, although they stay mostly as shadowy background figures.There are quite a few smile-out-loud moments, and I found myself impatient to get back to listening when I was otherwise engaged.There's some swearing (the Others find swearing one of the few good things humans have thought up), some mention of sex, but nothing explicit and its all so vague you could easily miss it ("I'll let you do that thing you wanted to do last night" - if you have an adult take you fill in the gaps one way, if you don't ,you fill 'em another!), some violence and death - but again, nothing overt or nasty.Well read, with the narrator managing to populate a wide cast. She gets a bit gruff when doing angry wolves, but what else could she do? There are a few jarring American pronunciations to my English ears, but not many.The end leaves several (quite big) issues unresolved, so I imagine there's a sequel or two to come, and if the nasty, rather brutal Others become a tad nice and civilised rather quickly - responding to threats to withhold their cookies for heaven's sake - it doens't detract from what is a good, imaginative yarn about how plain honest-to-goodness decency wins through! I really enjoyed it and will look out for the sequel.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Janine

BRACKNELL, United Kingdom

3/10/14

Overall

Performance

Story

"Endearing story. Dreadful narration"

An alternate Earth where shape shifting 'Earth Natives' tolerate humans - barely - until a special human with prophetic gifts stumbles into their lives.

The story has glaring gaps and is never going to win any literary prizes but the story is novel, if a bit predictable.

It's easy to love the characters and watching an impossible love story unfold will have you desperate for book 2.

The narration is dreadful. It spoils a lovely story. She pauses in the wrong places, puts emphases incorrectly so that the meaning becomes unclear. It also undermines the building of atmosphere and tension.

6 of 7 people found this review helpful

Adele

Sutton in Ashfield, United Kingdom

4/11/16

Overall

Performance

Story

"Hooked already"

What made the experience of listening to Written in Red the most enjoyable?

This is a fascinating story with twists and turns that keep you interested all the way through. Strong characters for you to identify with, looking forward to listening to the next book.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Hard to pick a favourite as they are all unique.

Which character – as performed by Alexandra Harris – was your favourite?

All of them

If you made a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Lives entwined

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

E

12/7/14

Overall

Performance

Story

"A brave new take on the recent trend."

Where does Written in Red rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This has to be one of my favourite audiobooks so far.

Who was your favorite character and why?

The way Meg looks at the world around her is totally fresh. A child's innocence inside the body of an increasingly strong woman.

Which scene did you most enjoy?

I must confess to a fear of small scurrying things but the reaction of Meg combined with the Others was hysterical.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

When Sam emerged in defence of Meg's use of the harness followed by Simon's joy at hearing his nephew's voice,

Any additional comments?

I had to purchase book two at full price because I was unable to wait three days for my new credits to arrive. I can't think of a greater recommendation.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Shopper

7/18/14

Overall

Performance

Story

"Loved it"

What made the experience of listening to Written in Red the most enjoyable?

The narrator fits the personality of the main character really well.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Written in Red?

When Meg stands her ground

What about Alexandra Harris’s performance did you like?

The narrator's voice is quite calming but it fits well with the main character and I got used to it.

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I didn't find it massively emotional but I did enjoy it.

Any additional comments?

It was really nice to have a good urban fantasy where the romance takes a back seat.

I have also listened to the next in the series.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Pepe-chan

1/22/16

Overall

Performance

Story

"Great story and great narration"

read the book and now have listen to the audio. The best book I ever read/listen to.

narration was great and the story was unique. it didn't move too fast or too slow.

love the characters and each of their personalities.

Definitely will recommend it for everyone to llisten to this book.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Miss

1/2/16

Overall

Performance

Story

"loved it"

I loved this and have listened to it repeatedly since I purchased it. I highly recommend the series so far.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Ann

Arlingham, United Kingdom

10/21/16

Overall

Performance

Story

"An interesting & engaging listen"

I appreciate I am not the target market for this book.The concept is good, but I found the characters lacked depth & the American accent didn't convey the sentiments in the words being used. That said the story was engaging & I enjoyed listening to it. I will be buying the next one in the series to listen to. Overall I think this would be a great read/listen for 13-16yr olds & above.

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

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